A conventional vehicle occupant load sensing apparatus includes a load sensor placed between a vehicle seat frame and a support mount for the seat. The sensor is directly within the vertical load path of the occupant's weight and responds to the vertical loads imparted to the seat by the occupant of the seat. In addition, the sensor may respond to torque loads between the seat and the support mount. Since the seat frame and the support mount must withstand large torque loads (i.e., tilting of the seat frame during crash conditions), typically the sensor also must be constructed to withstand large torque loads.
This construction lessens the sensitivity of the sensor in the vertical load path. Thus, the sensor may not produce a reliable vertical load output signal.
A load sensing apparatus may be constructed to within tight tolerances that would allow the load sensing apparatus to withstand torque loads, but also produce an accurate occupant load output signal related to upward and downward loads in the vertical load path.